HOMILIES FOR LENT

Third Sunday Lent 2007 Luke 13: 1-9 – 5:30; 10:30 378. A beloved rabbi died and rose to heaven. There he was greeted with the hosts of angels singing and praising the rabbi for all his good works."Please don’t make such a fuss," the rabbi protested. "I was not so perfect as you make me seem."At that point the Lord God himself appeared in glory. "What’s the problem, my son? You lived a near-perfect life on earth. You deserve all the honors we can give you.""No, my Lord," the rabbi protested. "I failed miserably with my daughter. You see, she became a Christian.""I understand," said the Lord. "I had a similar problem with my son.” Like the rabbi often you may take a nose dive into guilt. As a result, you may think much less of yourself, or even be plunged into the depths of depression. For example, impatience or anger with the children, misunderstandings between husband and wife that explode into fiery arguments leaving third degree burns that take a long time to heal. Or gossip so petty that when you think of it, you’re embarrassed because the pettiness reminds you of how small and insecure you are. Gossip about co-workers or neighbors or in-laws or fellow students or family members, teachers, parish priests. You just hate to admit something we all have in common: we are all mistake makers. But Jesus reassures you through the parable of the fig tree that you always have second chances. In fact the parable of the fig tree has been called the gospel of the second chance. Since Jesus forgives you over and over, again and again, second chances become chances as innumerable as the stars in the midnight sky. Why then, I ask you, are you so hesitant, so reluctant, so uncertain that you will not forgive yourself? During Lent you recall your sins in order to do penance for them. But what about recalling your sins so that you can forgive yourself of them. I think on a spiritual level that one of the most forceful impediments to your development is your hesitancy or refusal to forgive yourself. On the psychological level, not forgiving yourself can be one of the heaviest boulders pulling you down into the suffocating depth of depression. A lot of psychological and emotional problems are caused by lack of self-forgiveness. I cannot emphasize enough how imperative it is for you to forgive yourself. If you want to feel as free as a soaring eagle, as happy as someone who’s just fallen in love, as released from bondage as a slave whose chains have been shattered, as carefree as a child jumping rope, then forgive yourself! Dominic Maruca in his essay, “A Reflection on Guilt,” says, “The memory of things past is a worm that will not die; whether that worm continues to grow or is changed into a brightly colored winged creature depends on whether we can find the forgiveness we need to bestow.” And I would add, to bestow first and foremost on yourself. Not forgiving yourself only indicates that you do not actually believe in Jesus’ infinite mercy, that you shove into the archives of forgotten stories, the parable of the Prodigal son, that you prefer to be haunted by the ghosts of past sins than to embrace the cross on which Jesus died for the forgiveness of all sins and for your power to forgive yourself. Jesus’ infinite mercy will not get through to you if you constantly put up the barrier of not forgiving yourself. Even more! How can you truly forgive others if you won’t forgive yourself? Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Though your sins be like scarlet, they will become white as snow.” If you will not forgive yourself, then your religion will be an unbending, inflexible, judgmental legalism. The legalism Jesus constantly preached against. Your relationship with God will be a stodgy, stuffy, dull, pompous, humorless religion. If you do forgive yourself, you will live your faith in joy and happiness, in good humor and laughter. After all since God gives you the gift of laughter, then God himself must laugh. There is a story that should encourage you to forgive yourself. A young nun in the 14th century was reputed to be having visions of Jesus. Typical of the bureaucracy, the bishop summoned her. “You’re having visions of Jesus, are you?” “Yes, your Excellency,” the young nun answered with expected humility and respect. “Well,” the bishop blustered, “the next time you have one of these visions, you ask Jesus what the great sin was that the bishop committed before he was crowned bishop.” “Yes, you Excellency,” the young nun answered with expected humility and respect. Months passed. Then the young nun showed up at the bishop’s palace. “Oh,” the bishop said, “you’ve had another vision of Jesus?” “Yes,” your Excellency,” the young nun answered with expected humility and respect. “And did you ask Jesus the question I told you to ask? What great sin the bishop committed before he was crowned bishop?” “Yes,” your Excellency,” the young nun answered with expected humility and respect. “So tell me,” the bishop commanded, “what did Jesus say?” “Your Excellency, Jesus said, ‘I don’t remember.’” HUMOR : Story about Peter O’Toole, the famous actor who is in his 80’s. He was asked if he exercised. He replied that the only exercise he gets is walking behind the caskets of those who exercised. THOUGHT Use Lent to forgive yourself.

IT'S YOUR MINISTRY II Matt 20:17-28

The bold mother of James and John and her sons need to learn humility. The other disciples who were indignant also needed to learn humility. We all need to learn humility. In the exercise of your ministries, humility is as essential as water for living fish. You should not be so arrogant as to make the priest feel irrelevant. The priest too has his own ministry: for example, to guide and persuade, to teach and lead, to affirm and challenge. There are certain prerogatives the priest has that the laity don’t: for example, changing bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus during our Eucharistic celebration. The sacramental forgiveness of sin. As lay persons you fulfill your ministries while gaining strength from the priest’s ministry. And this takes humility – on both sides. We are all the People of God; though many parts we are one body. Therefore we must work in tandem, cooperating with one another, not trying to win in the game of one-upmanship. And this takes humility. The priest must never dominate the people, especially with guilt feelings. And the people should never ignore or rebel against the priest, especially with cheap and petty gossip. Rather the priest’s and laity’s ministries should mesh in mutual helpfulness, in mutual enabling, in mutual cooperation. Stephen Covey in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says that a person with a win-win attitude sees life as a cooperative not a competitive arena. We wound one another with a refusal to understand and cooperate. Joan Chittister in her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, says, “We need to cooperate with others not depend on them.” Humility is essential for cooperative ministries.

IT'S YOUR MINISTRY

In baptism, you, the laity, were given your ministry. It is a ministry by right and does not depend on the ordained ministry of the priest. The days of waiting for Father to tell you what to do are over. The days of needing Father’s permission or approval are gone. No longer do the people ask Father, “Should we have hamburgers or hot dogs at the parish picnic?” Father is no longer looked upon as the font of all wisdom or the solver of all problems. Whether Father realizes it or not. You have your own ministry. If you see something that needs to be done, do it. If you see something that needs to be stopped, stop it. Never forget that in baptism you were graced with the power of Jesus’ ministry as prophet. It’s not easy to be a prophet. Frederick Buechner in his book, Willful Thinking, said, “There is no evidence that anyone ever invited a prophet home for dinner more than once.” In ancient times, prophets were persecuted and put to death. Jesus, the Prophet, was crucified. In our own era there have been many prophets who were persecuted, silenced, inside and outside the church, and many have been assassinated. Gandhi comes to mind. Marin Luther King. Oscar Romero, who is still waiting to be canonized. And there are myriads of other prophets whose names we don’t even know who have been tortured and put to death. These prophets fulfilled their baptismal ministry. It takes courage to fulfill your baptismal prophetic ministry. It takes courage, for example, to speak out against the war in Iraq when all those around you are saluting the flag. Brennan Manning in his book, The Signature of Jesus, said, “The radical demands of the gospel have dissolved into verbal Alka Seltzer and prophetic preaching has become almost impossible.” I would add, and prophetic living. To see whether or not you are fulfilling your baptismal prophetic ministry, you have to ask yourself continually, Have I done anything countercultural recently?

Homilies for Lent

FIRST SUNDAY LENT A – FEB 25 2007 – 5pm – 12:15 STORY: When da Vinci was looking for a model for the face of Christ in his painting of the Last Supper, he found a young man, handsome and clean cut and hired him. His name was Georgio Bandinelli Finally it was time to do the face of Judas. da Vinci found a beggar whose face was so hardened and scared with sin that da Vinci could barely look at him. But he hired him. When he was finished, da Vinci said, I don’t even know your name. The beggar answered, I am Bandinelli, I posed for your Jesus. We enter the Jesus story. Jesus is being tempted in the same way as Bandinelli was. Unlike Bandinelli who gave into temptation and twisted the Christ-like face into the grotesque mask of Judas, Jesus is as resistant to temptation as God’s eternal word resists the distortions of our culture. Jesus whose hunger gnaws at his stomach like a vulture tearing into the carcass of a dead lamb, gears up for a battle that is far more formidable than that of David confronting Goliath. Then it was sword against slingshot. Now it is subtle innuendo trying to seduce the One who says, I am Truth. Now it is slithering manipulation versus the One who says, I have come to do the will of him who sent me. Donald Gelpi in his book, Experiencing God, tells us that the temptations of Jesus symbolize the fact that we his followers will enter into a lifetime of being tested. You’re familiar with tests such as others’ hostile arguments which you’re called upon to forgive. Or obnoxious putdowns which you are called upon to turn the other cheek. Or gross ingratitude which you are called upon to respond with even greater generosity. Then there are the tests that come from society: human insensitivity, racism, sexism, greed, pollution, murder. What about injustice and violence, unnecessary wars, cheating and dishonesty, gross inequities that make the rich richer and the poor poorer? All these and more are the tests you must face and cope with during your lifetime. These tests begin in early childhood. STORY: A teacher on a snowy day is trying to get all the kindergarten children’s coats, gloves and boots on. One little girt starts crying. I can’t find my boots, she wails. Honey, the teacher says, your boots are over there in the corner. They’re not my boots, she sobs. My boots had snow on them. Another little girl was asked, What are sins of omission? She thought for a while and then said, I think they’re the sins we should have committed but didn’t. The temptation in facing these and other tests is to shrug your shoulders and crawl deeper into the cocoon of your own selfish security just as Jesus could have feasted on bread from stones or won the worship of all the powerful nations in the world had he given in to his temptations. Jesus’ temptations are as real as the stones that could have been turned into bread. Jesus’ temptations are as real as his bloody sweat in the Garden of Olives when he was being lured into passing the cup of suffering back to his Father. Jesus’ temptations are as real as the flesh the Word of God became. Lent is not a season as somber as a wake. Rather picture Jesus, after he has defeated his tempter, standing there in the desert with his face wreathed in a gratified smile. Enter into Lent with that picture of Jesus in your mind and you will find that lent is a time of joy as you triumph over temptations and make them occasions of deepening your spiritual life HUMOR: A sign at a business establishment in Philadelphia, PA: "WE WOULD RATHER DO BUSINESS WITH 1000 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS THAN WITH A SINGLE AMERICAN" This sign was prominently displayed in the window of a business in Philadelphia. You are probably outraged at the thought of such an inflammatory statement.One would think that anti-hate groups from all across the country would be marching on this business... And that the National Guard might have to be called to keep the angry crowds back.But, perhaps in these stressful times one might be tempted to let the proprietors simply make their statement . . . We are a society who holds Freedom of Speech as perhaps our greatest liberty . . . And after all, it is just a sign.You may ask what kind of business would dare post such a sign?Answer: A Funeral Home (Who said morticians had no sense of humor?) THOUGHT: Use Lent to grow spiritually by overcoming temptations..Second Sunday Lent 2007 7:30Mark Twain once categorized people into three groups: commonplace, remarkable, and lunatics. I don't know about you, but I can think of people who belong in all three groups. St. Paul, though, says there are only two kinds of people ” citizens of the world and citizens of heaven. And the contrasts between the two are stark. Here is how St. Paul describes citizens of the world. HE SAYS THEIR DESTINY IS DESTRUCTION. Recent wire reports carried the story of a motorist who stole $9 worth of gasoline and died in a fiery wreck while making his getaway. "He died a very painful death for $9 of gas," said a witness who tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher. How very, very sad. Rarely when we do wrong do we see what the end result can be. The Bible does not pull punches. The wages of sin is death. Comedienne Paula Poundstone says in one of her routines that the wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling. We wish her little gag was accurate, but that is not the Biblical testimony. Paul says of the citizens of this world their destiny is destruction. Paul also SAYS, THEIR GLORY IS IN THEIR SHAME. In other words, they live in active rebellion against the things of God. Have you ever known anyone who could not have a good time unless he or she was doing something bad? Have you ever known anyone who could not express their feelings without the use of an obscenity? Even worse, perhaps, are those who flaunt moral law with no consciousness of any wrongdoing. A few years ago a story jumped from the sports sections to the front pages of newspapers all over this land. One was the revelation from Magic Johnson that he is infected with the AIDS virus. Johnson indeed should have the sympathy of every one of us. He is a warm man with a tremendous personality who has given basketball fans many years of pleasure. We would not want to demean in any way the courage he showed in sharing his problem with the public. However, the only lesson he had to share with young people from his own tragedy is "practice safe sex." Later, after a rather strong public outcry he admitted that abstinence is the only sure preventive of AIDS. "Their destiny is destruction," says St. Paul, and their glory is in their shame. But St Paul establishes a balance – a balance you can strive for during this Lenten season.St. Paul states: "But our citizenship is in heaven. Your balance is between being citizens of this world and citizens of heaven.. Citizens of heaven are much more fortunate, says St. Paul. They can look forward to the day when their imperfect bodies will be transformed by Christ into glorious new bodies. What is a citizen of heaven? A citizen of heaven lives a life of discipline and devotion. A life of faith and faithfulness. A life of conscience and commitment. And it is this life you should be striving to develop during this Lenten season.Perhaps you saw the movie FIELD OF DREAMS. It is a beautiful story about a young farmer who hears a voice in his cornfield. The voice says to him, "If you build it, he will come." Build what? he wants to know. A ball park, he learns. Who will come? Shoeless Joe Jackson, the great star of the Chicago White Sox. So the farmer plows under his corn and builds a ball diamond. It seems like a foolish exercise. A cornfield is real. It is something you can touch, something you can enjoy here and now ” but a ball field and a ball player long since gone from the scene? What an absurd dream. Sure enough, though, one day Shoeless Joe Jackson walks out of the cornfield and begins to play ball. So do seven other White Sox players, and then some old New York Giants. It is a tender story, and it probably sounds crazy if you haven't seen it, but it almost invariably gives people's spirits a lift. Lent reminds you that you are people who are both citizens of this world but also live in a world of dreams. Lent tells you that you have the advantage of believing Jesus’ words that there is something better for you.There is the story of a very wealthy young man who had all that a person could want ” materially. However, he was born with a deformity which left him with a very ugly face. Because of this one flaw he would stay in his house and walk around in his garden, which was closed in by a high wall. However, in the evening he would leave his walled-in garden and walk down by the seashore. One night he heard beautiful music. He hid himself in the shadows, and there he saw a young girl playing a violin. Each night he would leave his house, walk down to the seashore and listen to the young lady play the beautiful music. However, because of his ugliness he would hide in the shadows, hoping not to be seen. Later, the young man told his servant, "Take this money and give it to the lady with the violin, in order that she may go to the best school of music in Europe and master the beautiful music." After years of study, she returned home and was taken to the house of the man who paid for her education. He was standing in his garden with his back to the gate. The gate was opened for her and she came up behind him, threw her arms around his waist and cried, "I love you! I love you!" He said, "No, it's impossible for you to love me." All the more she cried, "I love you." The young man turned around and said, "How can you love me when you see so much ugliness in my face?" She replied, "You see, sir, I am blind." So it is because Jesus suffered and died for us, God, too, is blind to the ugliness of our sin. There is a story about two men who, under the influence of liquor, found their way to the dock where their boat was tied. The two men wanted to return home, so they got in the boat and began to row. Though they rowed hard all night, they did not reach the other side of the bay. When the gray dawn of the morning broke, they were in exactly the same spot from which they started. They had neglected to loosen the mooring-line and raise the anchor! Lent is the time when you can cut the cord, get rid of anything holding you back from your progress in your spiritual development.Lent is the time to establish the balance between being a citizen of this world and a citizen of heaven. HUMOR A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather’s computer. Her grandfather asked her what she was writing. She told him I’m writing a story. “What’s the story about?” he asked. “I don’t know,” she replied. “You know I can’t read.”Thought: Be holy by acquiring balance..